Community

I’ve noticed that I give the same amount of appreciation if not more, to a dance performance than I do an actual work of art (as in painting, drawing, etc.).  A dance has more life, more passion and a more personal touch to it, especially when I can relate to it.  This is the case when it comes to Bolivian folkloric dances.

My sense of community comes from my roots.  I’m half Bolivian and here in New York there is a big community of Bolivians.  To us, our heritage is a work of art; our traditional dances and costumes are celebrated often here.  The entire community supports the many dance groups that practice and perform at parades and presentations because it gives them something to be proud of.  Many see theses dances as memories of their country and memories of their youth.  Our culture is unique, and so demonstrating it is something we love to do.

The process to be able to share these dances is a long one.  It takes a couple of months to learn the steps and moves, it takes even longer to learn the style.  Creativity is a major role that requires all the dancers to give their input for new steps or choreography.  Countless hours and practices are spent perfecting a choreography.  We practice just as hard as any ballet or contemporary dancer.  In fact, on any given day (when the weather is still warm of course) you can see people practicing on the platform leading into Flushing Meadows Corona park from the 7 train.  Several dance groups spend their evenings teaching, learning, and creating steps that they use in parades or in private performances.  The beauty of traditional Bolivian dancing meets modernization by the younger generations, together creating incredible choreographies that show off their skills and creativity.

What completes the masterpiece are handmade costumes brought directly from Bolivia.  These large, complex and heavily decorated outfits take weeks to make and are difficult to ship here simply because of the cost and size.  For example the green dress (see below) is for a dance called Tinkus, which has its roots in northern Potosi, a city in Bolivia, stems from a tradition where neighboring peoples would fight as an offering to the Mother Earth in exchange for a good year.  The costume has evolved into a brightly colored dress for women, with long piece of fabric hanging from the shoulder down to almost the knees, several multicolored belts that hang down, a head piece that goes around your hair, and a brightly feathered hat with ribbons hanging down the back (okay I’m really bad at describing clothing so just see the picture). But seeing a costume design come out of the box and putting it on really makes all of it worth it.  Like this green outfit, was designed by myself and two others; the dress is a standard pattern, but the embroidery on it was drawn out.  When we first got to see the actual dress it was the day of a performance over at LaGuardia Community College for a big presentation for the 6th of August celebration. The dresses were amazing, the color was vibrant and eye catching, and when we performed it felt like we could be seen clearly from the farthest corner of the auditorium.  To someone who just sees one of us walking down the street wearing this green outfit (which happens on days when there is a parade going on) they just give us this weird look (which we are used to already).  We don’t expect everyone to appreciate it, but you know what? You either like it, or you don’t.  Point is, it’s our art, it’s our heritage, and we couldn’t care less if you think we’re strange.